JDE: The Coming of Gastricus
by bluecatcinema
Summary: A new, deadly threat approaches from the depths of space...
1. Stargazing

**JDE: The Coming of Gastricus**

**Chapter One: Stargazing**

It was a typical day in Saint Canard. A superpowered lunatic was threatening the city, and the Justice Ducks had gathered to stop him.

"Surrender, fools!" Sneered the green-cloaked skunk. "For I am... Smellbinder! Every scent in the world is at my fingertips! And soon, I shall be smelling the sweet smell of victory!"

As the villain cackled, the Justice Ducks stared, nonplussed.

"Are you kidding me with this?" Quiverwing Quack asked.

"Cower before my might!" Smellbinder screamed. Glowing with mystic energy, he sprayed a blast of foul-smelling vapor at the Justice Ducks.

"Is that... limburger?" Straight Arrow coughed.

"With a hint of garlic!" Sneered Smellbinder. "Now do you realise how helpless you are against me?"

"Maybe." Shrugged Gizmoduck 2.0 as she reached into one of her armor's compartments. "If we didn't have these."

Gizmoduck 2.0 produced a handfull of noseplugs, which she distributed among her teammates.

"Oh, no fair!" Smellbinder whined.

Five minutes later, Smellbinder had been dumped outside the police station, and the Justice Ducks had returned to their headquarters. The team were taking advantage of the downtime; Gizmoduck 2.0 and Aqueous were sparring, and Spellbound was studying her braille-written magic books. Meanwhile, a helmetless Straight Arrow was scrutinising the main computer, studying the data through disbelieving eyes.

"Something wrong, hon?" Quiverwing asked.

"I'm not sure." Straight Arrow shrugged. "The last few weeks, I've been studying intergalactic energy readings. A couple of planets I was monitoring have suddenly gone dark. A week ago, they were teeming with all sorts of energies, and now, nothing!"

"Weird." Admitted Quiverwing.

"And that's not even the weirdest part." Straight Arrow continued. "There's a pattern. The planets have been dying one after the other. A clear path, which seems to be heading our way."

"Our way?" Quiverwing repeated worriedly. "And you don't think that's a problem?"

"Not especially." Straight Arrow said. "Just before the planets went dark, this strange energy appeared. As long as it doesn't come here, we're perfectly-"

Straight Arrow was cut off by a beeping from the computer. The screen was indicating a white streak crossing the interstellar map.

"We're in trouble." Straight Arrow gulped.

By now, the rest of the team had gathered around the computer, watching the streak approaching Earth.

"Let me get this straight." Gizmoduck 2.0 grimaced. "Everywhere this... thing goes, a planet dies?"

"In so many words, yes." Straight Arrow nodded.

"And it's heading right for us?" Spellbound asked.

"Yes." Straight Arrow gulped. "Wait, what's this?"

The computer had started beeping again. The streak was moving downward.

"Whoa, it _is_ headed right for us! Straight Arrow gasped. "Straight toward Saint Canard. Straight toward this very building, in fact!"

"To the roof, Justice Ducks!" Quiverwing declared, donning her mask. "Maybe we can stop this thing before it does any damage!"

"Hear, hear!" Aqueous bellowed. "Let's show whatever that thing is that it won't destroy our planet without a fight!"

The Justice Ducks charged up the stairs that led to the rooftop, emerging just in time to see a shining metal being descending on them. The being resembled a canine, coated entirely in bronze, and riding a similarly-colored, flying skateboard. He hovered down to their level.

"Earthlings." He declared. "I am the Bronze Boarder. I bring you this message: All that you know is at an end."

**To Be Continued...**

_(Darkwing Duck and all associated characters are the property of Disney.)_


	2. Incoming

**JDE: The Coming of Gastricus**

**Chapter Two: Incoming**

The Justice Ducks responded to the Bronze Boarder's words as you would expect them to.

"Not on our watch, chrome dome!" Quiverwing declared.

"To threaten our world is to threaten your own person!" Aqueous roared.

"Me first!" Gizmoduck 2.0 called, firing her metallic fist at the intruder, who simply swatted it aside.

"Have a care, Earthlings." The Bronze Boarder said calmy. "I am not the one who will destroy your world. My master, Gastricus, will. I am merely his herald. It is my duty to seek out planets such as this, and call him to them."

As he said this, he created a glowing orb of energy in his hand.

"And now, I summon my master!" The Boarder declared.

"Not if I can help it!" Quiverwing yelled.

Quiverwing fired an arrow at the Boarder, which erupted into foam on impact, coating the Boarder's entire body. The Boarder looked down with mild surprise. He then closed his eyes. A strange glow surrounded him, reducing the foam to dust.

"How did..." Quiverwing asked.

"Magic?" Straight Arrow postulated.

"Well then, perhaps I can deal with him!" Declared Spellbound. _"Extremitus petrificus!"_

The Boarder's arms were pinned to his sides by bands of mystic energy. Then the strange glow enveloped him once more, and the bands dissapated.

"Your 'magic' is no match for the universal energy." He declared. "This power was granted to me by my master himself. Nothing you do can stop me from carrying out my mission."

As the glowing orb formed in the Boarder's hand once again, Quiverwing took action.

"Rush 'im!" She commanded.

As one, the Justice Ducks pounced on the Boarder. They struggled briefly, but a blast of energy from the Boarder sent them flying. Free to perform his duties, he threw the orb up into the sky and beyond.

"May it be done quickly, master." The Boarder said quietly, before turning to the downed Justice Ducks. "Earthlings, take pleasure in what little time you have left."

"I'll take more pleasure in this!" Aqueous roared, pulling the board out from under the Boarder.

The Boarder fell onto the roof. As he clambered to his feet, Aqueous swung the board directly into his face. The force of the impact sent the Boarder flying over the edge of the roof.

"Overkill much?" Gizmoduck 2.0 gasped.

"He could have been our only chance to stop this 'Gastricus'!" Straight Arrow admonished him.

"Well, pardon me for wanting to vanquish the one who facilitated the end of our world!" Aqueous said bluntly.

"I'll get after him!" Spellbound told the others. _"Levitacus bodius!"_

Clad in mystic energy, Spellbound floated over the roof and down the building. She found the Boarder flat on his back in a dumpster, miraculously unharmed.

"Can you hear me?" She asked. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine." The Boarder rubbed his head. "The piscine creature, he... struck me with my own board."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Spellbound shrugged.

"Why are you apologising to me?" The Boarder asked, puzzled.

"Maybe because you were only doing your job." Spellbound smiled. "And maybe because... you're a better person then you let on. I can sense it."

"How do you mean?" The Boarder asked.

"Simple." Spellbound smiled. "With the power you possess, you could have crushed my friends and I easily, but you didn't. You held back. Whatever you are, Bronze Boarder, you're no killer."

The Bronze Boarder smiled indulgently.

"My name's Mystica." Spellbound smiled back, pulling down her hood. "Do you have a name?"

"Once." The Boarder sighed. "But not any more."

Back on the roof, Straight Arrow was using his laptop to try and calculate Gastricus' arrival.

"Any sign of him?" Quiverwing asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." Straight Arrow noted grimly. "There's a massively powerful object, moving faster then the speed of light, heading right towards us."

"How soon 'til it gets here?" Gizmoduck 2.0 asked.

"Round about..." Straight Arrow started, before a shadow fell over Saint Canard.

An immense metallic sphere descended from out of the sky. From the centre opened a panel, from which a walkway emerged. From inside the sphere, what looked like a colossal pig in green and orange armor emerged.

"Now." Straight Arrow finished redundantly.

**To Be Continued...**

_(Darkwing Duck and all associated characters are the property of Disney.)_


	3. Preparations

**JDE: The Coming of Gastricus**

**Chapter Three: Preparations**

The titanic sphere of Gastricus hovered in the sky, casting it's shadow over all of Saint Canard. The Justice Ducks looked with awe at this foreboding sight.

"Got any plans, boss lady?" Gizmoduck 2.0 asked.

"Thinking on it." Quiverwing grimaced.

"What's there to think about?" Aqueous snorted. "We must attack the invader!"

"By what, biting his ankles?" Straight Arrow joked. "Maybe we should try reasoning with him. He seems intelligent enough."

Flying up to Gastricus via an anti-gravity platform (On loan from McDuck Industries) the group tried to get the giant's attention.

"Excuse me, pal, but we'd like a word with with you!" Quiverwing yelled as loud as she could.

"Who dares to speak to Gastricus this way?" The giant spoke, in a voice so deep that it would put most bass singers to shame.

"That would be us." Gizmoduck 2.0 said. "We're the Justice Ducks, and we defend this world!"

"If you don't mind my asking, what do you intend to do here?" Straight Arrow asked.

"I intend to feed on this world of yours." Gastricus said matter-of-factly.

"Feed... on our world?" Quiverwing repeated, shocked.

"Correct." Gastricus confirmed. "The gnawing hunger within me can only be appeased by the life energy situated in and around planets such as this one."

"But there are countless innocent people on this world." Gizmoduck 2.0 protested. "You can't kill them all, just to satisfy a case of the munchies!"

"I do not wish to harm anyone." Gastricus told him. "But if my hunger is not appeased, I die, and I do not wish to die, either."

The Justice Ducks looked to each other with horror.

"Such life energy, contained within a single world." Gastricus noted. "Where is my herald? I wish to reward him for leading me to such a bountiful meal."

"Well, he, ah, fell off the roof in a fight, and-" Straight Arrow started.

"A fight?" Gastricus roared. "Who would dare challenge my sentinel of the spaceways?"

"That would be me, giant." Aqueous declared. "And now, I challenge you!"

Leaping from the platform, Aqueous plunged his trident into Gastricus' ankle.

"RAARGH!" Gastricus bellowed. "Foolish insect!"

Reaching down, Gastricus grabbed Aqueous and threw him at the platform, causing it to sway downward, momentarily out of control. Once Gizmoduck 2.0 got it level again, the Justice Ducks noticed more machinery emerging from the sphere, which Gastricus began to fit together.

"What is all that stuff?" Quiverwing wondered.

"Well, since I don't see any giant knives and forks, I'm guessing that machine is the means by Gastricus intends to feed on our world." Straight Arrow hypothesized.

"Then we have a chance." Quiverwing declared. "If we can manage to take that heap of junk out, big G's dinner plans are kaput. Justice Ducks, let's go!"

Meanwhile, back on street level, Spellbound and the Bronze Boarder were looking at Gastricus' sphere.

"It has begun." The Boarder noted glumly. "Soon, the lifeforce extractor will be ready, and my master shall feed upon this world, like he has so many others."

"How can you willingly serve someone like that?" Spellbound asked, appalled. "Someone who has, most likely, destroyed hundreds of inhabited worlds. How?"

"My service spares my world." The Boarder admitted. "And the woman I love."

"I see." Spellbound nodded. "But this world doesn't deserve to be destroyed. It is a beautiful, wonderful place."

"Beautiful?" The Boarder asked, gazing into Spellbound's glazed white eyes. "You are blind. What know you of beauty?"

"I may be blind, but I can still see." Spellbound told him. "When I touch another, I can see through their eyes. Perhaps you should see through my eyes... figuratively speaking, of course."

Spellbound placed her hand on the Boarder's head.

"What are you-" The Boarder protested.

"Shhh." Spellbound shushed. "I'm showing you this world, as I have seen it."

Spellbound's hand glowed with mystic energy. In an instant, the Bronze Boarder saw the beauty of Earth; It's lush green forests, it's deep blue seas, it's cloud-filled skies, and, most important of all, it's noble, courageous populous.

"Such beauty." The Boarder gasped. "Such spirited lifeforms."

"Please, help me and my friends to save this world." Spellbound pleaded. "Please, Boarder."

"Jor-Rin Xel-Had." The Boarder said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Spellbound asked.

"Once, I was known as Jor-Rin Xel-Had." The Boarder clarified. "Before I came to serve Gastricus."

"Jor-Rin, please help us." Spellbound asked again.

"I shall." The Boarder nodded. "To me, my board!"

The bronzed board, having laid abandoned on the rooftop after being used to strike its owner, floated up and flew down to the Boarder.

"We must hurry." The Boarder declared, as he and Spellbound mounted the board. "The lifeforce extractor is almost assembled!"

Up above, the Justice Ducks were trying their best to damage the machine, but to no avail. Their best shots were either blocked by Gastricus, or had no effect on the device.

"Enough of these petty distractions." Gastricus declared, as he made the final connection. "It is time... to dine!"

**To Be Continued...**

_(Darkwing Duck and all associated characters are the property of Disney.)_


	4. Rebellion

**JDE: The Coming of Gastricus**

**Chapter Four: Rebellion**

Gastricus' completed machine started to hum loudly, at the same time glowing with unearthly energies. The giant was licking his lips in anticipation.

"My hunger shall soon be sated." He salivated.

"We've got to do something, right now, or it's all over!" Quiverwing said desperately.

At that moment, Spellbound and the Bronze Boarder flew up to meet them.

"Hey, guys." Spellbound waved. "Miss me?"

"Him again!" Aqueous snarled at the Boarder, raising his fists.

"Easy, big guy." Spellbound said. "He's on our side now."

"Indeed, I am." The Boarder nodded. "Please, allow me to attempt to dissuade my master."

"That just might work." Straight Arrow mused. "Gastricus might not have listened to us, but he may listen to you."

After Spellbound hopped onto the Justice Ducks' hover platform, the Bronze Boarder flew up to Gastricus.

"Ah, herald." Gastricus smiled. "I knew the insects of this world could not stop you. You have done well to lead me here."

"My master, I have served you faithfully for what seems like years beyond counting." The Bronze Boarder declared. "In all that time, I have never asked for anything. Today, that changes. Today, I humbly ask that you spare this world."

"What?" Gastricus spat. "This world is the most fruitful I have ever seen. You would have me deny myself such a feast?"

"My master, I beg you." The Boarder pleaded. "This world, these people, they are different from all the others. They deserve to live."

"Disappointing." Gastricus sighed. "You have lost your way, herald. I refuse to indulge in you misguided games. The time has come to feed."

"No!" The Boarder roared, firing a blast of universal energy at Gastricus.

"You dare to attack your master?" Gastricus roared. "Using the very power I have given you? This insolence will not go unpunished!"

Pointing one hand at the Boarder, Gastricus unleashed a much larger blast of energy, sending the Boarder flying. Fortunately, the Justice Ducks were there to catch their ally.

"So much for the 'talking things out' angle, huh, shiny?" Gizmoduck 2.0 quipped.

"Guess it's back to the old classic." Quiverwing drew her bow. "Justice Ducks, attack!"

Moving the hover platform into position, the Justice Ducks, with the Bronze Boarder backing them up, let loose with every thing they had. Quiverwing and Straight Arrow fired their most destructive arrows, Gizmoduck 2.0 unleashed practically her entire arsenal, Spellbound used her most powerful spells, while Aqueous threw punches and jabbed with his trident. Unfortunately, all this served only to irritate Gastricus.

"Pitiful germs." The giant sneered. "Begone!"

With a wave of his hand, Gastricus unleashed a energy wave that tipped the hover platform, sending Quiverwing and Straight Arrow tumbling onto the rooftop. Gastricus then reached down, grabbed Aqueous, and threw him at Spellbound, who had been using her magicks to hover. The amphibian collided with the magician, and they both joined Quiverwing and Straight Arrow on the roof.

Gizmoduck 2.0, flying via her built-in helipack, and the Bronze Boarder were all that was left. Gizmoduck 2.0 fired her capture nets at Gastricus, but they, and her, were blown away from a single puff from the giant's mouth.

The Bronze Boarder attempted to divebomb Gastricus, but was swatted away by a doublehand swing.

"You fool." Gastricus spat. "You know full well that the power I gave you was but the merest fraction of my own. You cannot win!"

"Then you leave me no choice." The Boarder said calmly. "You will leave this world, or I shall destroy your lifeforce extractor."

To emphasis this threat, the Boarder pointed a glowing fist at the machine.

"You would not dare..." Gastricus snarled.

"Oh, but I would." The Boarder smiled. "You have expended precious energy fighting us. In the time it would take for you to repair the extractor, you would succumb to your great hunger, and perish."

Gastricus fumed with rage. No-one had ever spoken to him like that before. He desired to annhilate the Boarder for even suggesting such a thing. But he could not risk the destruction of the lifeforce extractor.

"I know of a another world you can feed on." The Boarder declared. "In the next galaxy over. It is unpopulated, but rich in the life essence you require. I will point you in the right direction, and in return, you must vow never to attempt to feed on this world again."

Gastricus seethed, anger bubbling within.

"Very well." He said finally. "I shall spare this world. But know this, herald: Your rebellion comes with a price."

Gastricus raised a glowing hand. Light erupted from it, spreading across the sky, before dissapating.

"From this point forward, you are in exile." Gastrics declared. "You chose to betray me for this world, thus you shall never leave it."

"I understand." The Boarder nodded. "Now, I shall fulfill my part of the bargain."

The Boarder threw another glowing orb from his hand, which took off into the skies, and beyond. Without another word, Gastricus entered his sphere and departed in pursuit of the orb.

The Boarder floated down to the rooftop, to ensure the Justice Ducks were still alive.

"You did it." Quiverwing gaped.

"Impressive bluff." Straight Arrow nodded.

"Not to be a downer, but what's gonna stop the not-so-jolly green giant from just coming back and trying to eat the planet again?" Gizmoduck 2.0 asked.

"His word." The Boarder replied. "Whatever you may think of him, Gastricus is a being who always keeps his word."

"A good showing, bronze one." Aqueous admitted. "I _almost_ feel bad about knocking you off the roof now."

"What will you do now?" Spellbound asked.

"I have been exiled to this world, never to leave." The Boarder sighed. "But I do not regret my actions. I shall go forth and explore this strange globe, and see for myself its wonders."

"We wish you the best of luck, Jor-Rin." Spellbound smiled.

"Until we meet again." The Boarder smiled back.

The Boarder flew off into the sunset. leaving the Justice Ducks to silently wonder about what other fantastic beings might exist beyond the stars.

**The End.**

_(Darkwing Duck and all associated characters are the property of Disney.)_


End file.
